The Warriors put more responsibility on the big man's shoulders and he came through in a big way.

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Houston Rockets forward Kenneth Faried (35) reaches to the ball and fouls Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins (0) during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Houston. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle)

Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins (0) ties a shot over Houston Rockets center Clint Capela (15) during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Houston. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle)

Houston Rockets center Clint Capela (15) dunks over Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins (0) during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Houston.

Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins (0) during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Houston.

Wednesday’s 106-104 win over the Rockets was a downright moving experience for both Warriors players and the ball. There was an upstart energy to Golden State’s attack, reminiscent of the early days of the dynasty and a few of their finest moments since.

Stephen Curry drove to the basket seconds after the start of the contest, demanding a double-team by establishing his domain from 40 feet out to the rim. Klay Thompson moved around the court in a state of stealth, only to make himself seen when he received the ball to shoot a back-breaking 3-pointer. Draymond Green, with all of his anticipatory movements, tried to match Thompson’s stealth powers on the defensive end, save for the fact that he was barking out orders, and he pushed the ball in transition at a speed that seemed to test his own limits. Shaun Livingston even knocked down a couple of fadeaway mid-range jumpers that had less arch than an Army reject’s feet, all while Andre Iguodala reprised the role of starter and on-court parent, cleaning up messes with an unflappability that surely infuriated his opponent.

Yes, so much of the Warriors win, which came without Kevin Durant in the lineup, was a call-back to the early days of this Golden State run of excellence.

Except for the big man.

These dynastic Warriors have never seen anyone like him wearing their jersey.

Wednesday’s contest was far and away the finest performance of DeMarcus Cousins’ short Golden State tenure — a dizzying display of preternatural skill and physical superiority that hinted at extra levels of dominance the defending champions could reach once they decide to get out of their own way with waning focus and lax efforts.

There’s an X’s and O’s component, too: The Warriors have, at times, struggled to find a balance between the diametric styles preferred by their top scorers, Curry and Durant, causing the team’s enviably large offensive gears to grind. Adding a third offensive alpha to the mix, Cousins, the past two months has only created more frequent screeches.

That erstwhile warning had finally come to pass: there is, indeed, only one ball, and the Warriors — at least with their new starting five of Cousins, Durant, Green, Thompson, and Curry — had reached a state of critical mass when it came to deserved touches.

But with Durant out of the fold, at least for a night, that issue was alleviated, replaced by the need for his teammates to step their game up in his absence.

Cousins certainly did that Wednesday.

Cousins was often the maypole for the Warriors’ offense against Houston — the hub of an offensive celebration, distributing the ball and disrupting the Rockets’ defense with a stunningly tight handle and a deft passing touch befitting a player nearly 100 pounds lighter than him. But there were other times where the maypole was pulled out of the ground and used as a 6-foot-10, 280-pound battering ram, taking on two or three defenders in the low post and often winning.

The Rockets didn’t know what hit them. It felt revelatory to the Warriors, too.

Cousins scored 27 points on 68 percent shooting to go with eight rebounds and seven assists (six coming in the first half), and Golden State’s starting lineup, with Iguodala in the place of Durant, posted a 136.7 offensive rating, a plus-30.2 net rating, and an absurd 86.7 assist percentage in 15 minutes Wednesday.

Yes, it’s one game, but you can’t ignore those lineup numbers after considering that the Warriors’ typical, full-squad starting lineup has a net rating of plus-2.2 in 14 games (at 12 minutes per contest) this season.

Oh, and Wednesday’s new-look second unit, with Thompson, Livingston, Jordan Bell and Quinn Cook around Cousins, was excellent as well, posting a net rating of plus-38.1 in 11 minutes.

On the defensive end — the bugaboo for the big man so far this season — Cousins was effective if unspectacular. The Rockets tested him in targeted pick-and-roll action early in the contest, but he handled it well, leading to the Rockets abandoning the concept. By my count, he was only isolated nine times on Wednesday, the majority of which came in the first quarter.

The Warriors would love to replicate all of it in a possible playoff series.

In all, Cousins might have been the best player on the court for the Warriors against Houston, a distinction we haven’t been able to make since his first few games in blue and gold.

On Wednesday, Cousins reminded us that his best — and in turn, the Warriors’ best – is going to be worth the wait.

“We have to remind ourselves that it’s still pretty early in the process,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re all learning, me too. I gotta learn how to use him better.”

It’s, of course, laughable to suggest this team is better when Durant is out the lineup, but this Cousins breakout of sorts could prove to be a turning point for the Warriors, who haven’t won back-to-back games in a month.

Cousins flashed his improving physical abilities and along with some long-awaited chemistry with Curry on Wednesday.

Can he and Curry continue that when Durant comes back into the fold? Can Cousins expand that verve to include KD, too?

If he plays the way he did against Houston, looking to create for the team instead of himself, then the answer is an emphatic “yes”. And if he proves to be the bridge for Curry and Durant’s genius, not a divider, well, then it’s game over for the rest of the league.

That two-point margin of victory against their top rivals on Wednesday? It becomes a double-digit one.

The big question going into this critical four-game road trip for the Warriors was how much they could rely on Cousins, given that he had, at times, looked unplayable in recent weeks. The game against Houston’s isolation-heavy guards, in particular, was a huge test.

It’s only one game, but Cousins passed that big test Wednesday and might have provided an answer to the overarching question in the process (though there are 15 more games in which to confirm that):